It's Not Real
by exospier
Summary: Edward, Alphonse, and Roy are forced to live out their worst fears in a fear simulator designed by a madman named Erebus. Can the three of them tell fantasy from reality, or will they become broken from their own fears? OC.
1. Storm

**Yay my very first fanfic! I'm a huge fan of Fullmetal Alchemist and have been wanting to write a fanfic for a long time. Since this is my first fanfic, constructive criticism and tips are highly appreciated! Also, this chapter doesn't completely follow the story, it's more like an introduction. Enjoy!**

 **Disclaimer: I only wished I owned Fullmetal Alchemist**

It had been storming all day. Rain poured down from the sky at a fast rate, ominous clouds were seen throughout the whole sky, covering the sun, and every now and then a roll of thunder could be heard and a flash of lightning could be seen. Edward Elric was supposed to turn his report of his last mission into Colonel Roy Mustang this morning, but Roy, who seemed to be in a strangely pleasant mood, told Edward not to come to Central Command because of the storm. So instead, Edward and his brother Alphonse Elric headed over to the library to do some reading on the Philosopher's Stone, and had not moved since they arrived.

After a few long hours of reading with very little conversation, Alphonse finally spoke up. "Did you find anything, Brother?"

"No. Nothing at all," Edward responded. "This is getting ridiculous. We've been searching for months and haven't found any positive leads."

Alphonse made a noise that sounded like a sigh. Edward was right, it really was getting ridiculous. They had read almost every book they thought might have a clue to finding the stone, and after months of reading and going on missions with a possible lead, they were no closer to finding the stone than they were a few months before. They were beginning to believe they would never find the stone, and never be able to return to their original bodies.

Edward and Alphonse returned back to their hotel late that evening, neither one saying anything, each too consumed by their own thoughts.

It was Edward who finally broke the silence. "Al?"

"Yeah?"

"I'm going to get your body back, you know that, right? No matter how long it takes. I won't stop until you're returned to your original body."

"I know. We'll get your's back too, Brother." Edward said nothing. Alphonse knew Edward didn't care about getting his own body back as much as Alphonse's. "Get some sleep. We have to leave early tomorrow for Central to turn your report in."

"Yeah, you're right. Night, Al."

"Goodnight, Brother."


	2. Report

**This chapter starts to get into the story more. Hope you enjoy! Again, please leave some constructive criticism.**

 **Disclaimer: Still do not own Fullmetal Alchemist and never will.**

The next morning, it almost appeared as if there had been no storm at all. The sky returned back to its normal blue color, there was not a cloud to be seen, the sun was shining, but the scent of rainwater still lingered in the air. As a result, Edward needed to turn in his report to the Colonel today, as it was postponed. At 10 a.m., Edward and Alphonse headed into Central to hand in Edward's report.

Edward and Alphonse reached Central Command about 15 minutes later. They walked the direction of Colonel Mustang's office, where they saw Lieutenant Riza Hawkeye standing outside his door.

"Ahh Edward, Alphonse. You can go ahead in," she told them.

When they entered Colonel Mustang's office, they saw Mustang with his head bent over his paperwork, hand writing furiously. As soon as they started to walk over to his desk, the Colonel perked his head up.

"Ahh, Fullmetal. To what do I owe this displeasure?"

"Other way around, bastard," Ed retorted, glaring in disgust at the Colonel. "Here," Ed slammed his paperwork onto the desk, turned his back to the Colonel, and began to walk away from the Colonel and out the door. He should've known better, though. He could practically feel another response lingering in the air from the Colonel.

"Fullmetal".

Ed turned around to face the Colonel. "Yeah?".

"Be careful out there. Our criminal is still on the streets."

This time, it was Alphonse that spoke, "You mean they haven't caught him yet?"

"Nope. All we know is that is name is Erebus and that he's been hunting and capturing people of the military. Although none have made it back to give us details".

"Thanks, Colonel". With that, Ed and Al finally turned to leave.

A loud, piercing scream was heard throughout the entire building.

 **Please let me know if I should continue this story, because if not enough people favorite/follow/review, I will not continue it.**

 **-elricpotter24**


	3. The Man in the Black Suit

**Hello again! Thank you to those who favorited/followed/reviewed my story. Since I am very new at this, it means a lot to me, and I take your words into deep consideration. The chapters will definitely become longer as the story progresses. I'm really excited for this chapter because this is where the story is going to become more complex. Anyways, on with the story.**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own Fullmetal Alchemist (unfortunately).**

Edward, Alphonse, and Roy quickly rushed out of the office into the hall. It looked as if nothing had happened. Had they imagined the scream? The only indication that something had indeed happened was the look of shock on every one of the personnels' faces. Roy was looking around for the Lieutenant just as her saw her come running towards the three of them.

"Sir! Are you alright?"

"Lieutenant, what is the meaning of this?"

"Let's go back in the office. I'll explain in there."

When they were back in Colonel Mustang's office, the four of them sat there, Edward, Alphonse, and Roy staring at Riza, looking like children about to be read a story. Riza sighed, and her body seemed to relax a little, and the exhaustion clearly showed on her face. "There was an attack, sir. A man with a full body suit and weapons came in and started firing randomly. A few officers were wounded, but luckily, no one was killed."

"How did he get in the building? There's guards outside!" Edward exclaimed.

"Well, the cameras caught something particularly...odd." Riza responded.

"Wh-what do you mean?" Alphonse asked, bewildered.

 _-camera footage-_

 _Multiple guards are seen standing outside of Central Command, none talking, all staring straight ahead, with nothing to distract them. Suddenly, a figure in an all black suit appears, walking towards the guards. No part of the body is shown through the suit except a pair of red glowing eyes. The guards notice the figure and begin to shoot. However, a transparent shield appears in the air in front of the suited figure, clearly coming out of the suit, just as the guards begin to shoot. As the figure approaches a few feet closer to the guards, almost instantaneously, the eyes glow a much brighter red, and the guards drop down to the ground, unmoving._

 _-end-_

"What happened to the guards?" Roy questioned, his tone serious.

"They're fine, sir. They just collapsed to the ground unconscious."

"When the man's eyes turned red," Edward added.

"Exactly," Riza agreed. "However, there is one other thing. Before the suited figure ran from the building, he shouted: **CHAOS IS COMING!"**

"What the hell is that supposed to mean?!" Roy shouted.

"Do you think it was the madman the military has been searching for?" Alphonse asked.

"Erebus? I don't think so. The only clues we have about Erebus are pictures of military personnel that have been reported missing with the word ' **EREBUS'** written on it in red. However, we believe the men to be dead, as none have been reported to have been found alive. Or dead for that matter." Roy answered. Clearly, he was very frustrated with this situation, as his body began to tense and his eyes were wide.

"What's the pattern of the people that have been taken?" Edward exasperated. It was obvious that he, too, was becoming irritated with the situation.

Riza sighed, a tired look in her eyes. "We don't know." It was as simple and straightforward as that.

Edward, Alphonse, Roy, and Riza all knew they were dealing with something huge, and it could be shown on Edward, Roy, and Riza's faces. Their eyes were all wide with shock, anger, and exhaustion, their bodies were tense. Ed rested his elbow on his right knee, his head in his cold, automail hand. Roy was furiously rubbing his forehead with his bare hands, and Riza was staring at the wall. Alphonse, however, let out a sigh, which echoed in his armor.

"The suited man. He'll come back." Roy sighed. However, the other three were all too exhausted and deep in their own thoughts to hear him.

 **I hope to update fairly often. I do plan on continuing this story for many more chapters, but I don't expect it to be** _ **too**_ **long. Please review!**

 **-elricpotter24**


	4. Them

**Hello again! I am really enjoying writing this fic, and I'm excited for all of you to see what is to come in the story. It's still early in the story, but I'm also pleased with the way it is turning out. I have exams and work this week so I will have less time to write *sigh*. Now, on with the story.**

 **Disclaimer: Never will I own Fullmetal Alchemist no matter how much I would like to.**

It was only late in the evening, but it felt like years had passed. The four of them hadn't moved or spoken, all of them too deep in their own thoughts, going over what they had just learned and trying to come to possible conclusions, but were ending up nowhere, and leaving them more frustrated than before.

More time passed. Seconds. Minutes.

Finally, it was Alphonse that spoke up. "What do we do now?"

Roy sighed and rubbed his temples, a habit of his. "I don't know, Alphonse. There's not much we can do at the moment."

Edward instantly snapped out of his thoughts at the sound of Roy's words. "We can't just sit around and do nothing!"

"Edward, it would be irrational to go chasing after a maniac we barely know anything about." Roy scolded the boy.

"But people are being captured and as far as we know, killed!"

"Ed, you need to stop being so reckless and childish and start thinking rationally! We need to have a plan before we randomly go after a madman! You of all people should know that."

Edward, feeling the urge to do something, (because there's a madman, maybe even two, out on the streets and people are dying, dammit!), and irritated by Roy's words, and hell, irritated with this entire situation, ran straight out of the office, not saying a word to anyone.

Alphonse stood up, "Brother!"

Riza, too, stood up. Roy leapt out of his chair behind his desk and ran straight for the door. "Fullmetal, I order you to get back here! I did not give you permission to leave!"

No response could be heard, but Roy could still see Edward's retreating back, his infamous red coat trailing behind him. Without hesitation, he ran towards Ed's direction. Alphonse, too, ran after them. Riza, however, only ran to the door, knowing, or at least hoping, that Roy had the situation under control.

Edward walked the quiet, dark streets of Central. The sun had finally went down, and the sky was dark. He needed to be alone, to clear his head, and he did not feel like talking to anyone at the moment. He knew he had been childish back in the office, but so what? He _is_ only 15! He didn't care though, and he definitely wouldn't admit that Roy had been right. He knew Alphonse and Roy would be worried-wait, Roy? No, that bastard doesn't worry about him and never would. He did know for sure though that both Roy and Alphonse would be upset with him once they found him. He didn't doubt that they would find him, he just hoped he could get far enough away from Central Command to delay it.

"Fullmetal!"

So much for his alone time.

Edward didn't say anything, nor did he turn around. He stopped right in his tracks, staring straight ahead at nothing in particular.

"...Brother?"

Edward sighed and turned around. He knew he couldn't ignore them. He began to walk towards them when he saw it. Not just anything but _them._ Those _red glowing eyes_ he saw on the tape.They were here, only feet from him, right behind Roy and Alphonse. He opened his mouth to say something when he suddenly collapsed to the ground in a heap of unmoving limbs, the only indication that he was alive was the rising and falling of his chest.

"Brother!"

"Fullmetal? What's wrong with you?"

Roy and Alphonse ran to him, and suddenly the beaty, red glowing eyes appeared in from of them and they, too, collapsed to the concrete ground.

The black suited figure spoke in a somewhat high-pitched voice, insanity laced throughout it. "Such easy targets. Erebus will be happy to have you." The corners of the suit where the face should be moved, indicating a smile. The figure laughed, a maniacal laugh that echoed throughout the streets of Central City.

 **What did you think? Are you excited to read more? I'd love to know what you think, so please leave a review! Again, I hope my updates are fairly often.**

 **-elricpotter24**


	5. Waiting

**Hello! I am back after a LONG hiatus. During the time I was writing this story it was near the end of the school year, meaning I had a lot of exams. Then summer came and I had to work almost everyday, and then my computer got a virus and wouldn't work! During this time I lost my interest for writing, but I have started my senior year of high school and I am taking a creative writing class and writing a fictional story for another class, so my love for writing has risen again! Sorry if this chapter is a little rusty considering I haven't worked on it in almost 4 months…I also haven't watched FMA in a while because I've been obsessing over other things (*cough*K-POP*cough*).**

 **Anyways, I hope you enjoy this chapter!**

 **Disclaimer: No, I still do not own Fullmetal Alchemist.**

He woke up in a dark room with his hands tied to the wall, feet dangling above the floor. His head was pounding, his hands hurt from being tied up. His breathing was fast, his heart was pounding. He looked at his clothes, noticing the rips in multiple spots. He slowly lifted his head up and looked around the room. He saw two doors, one with heavy chains across it, the other a bit worn down but otherwise perfectly normal. _No windows..._ He thought.

"Nnnng…" Roy groaned, head pounding.

"Colonel? Are you alright?" Alphonse. Roy looked over at him and saw that he was sitting down against the wall, and he too had his hands tied over his head.

"I'll be fine. W-where are we?" Roy asked in a weak voice.

"I don't know...I've been trying to figure that out. It didn't take long for me to wake up, probably because I don't have a body in the first place. Question is, how were they even able to knock me out in the first place?"

"I'm not sure," Roy responded. "Where's Fullmetal?"

"I-I'm not sure…" Alphonse put his head down in uncertainty and worry.

"Have you heard any signs of him?" Roy asked, also sounding worried.

"No. Nothing. I haven't heard anyone. I'm not even sure if there's anyone but us in the building…"

Roy and Alphonse sat in silence for what felt like hours. No sign of Edward, no sign of the guy in the black suit with the glowing red eyes, no sign of life anywhere except for the occasional fly buzzing across their faces, and a small squeak, most likely from a mouse, every 20 minutes or so.

After sitting in silence for so long, both Roy and Alphonse thinking about where Edward could have gone, or where the black suited man could have gone, or if Edward was with the black suited man, and (im)patiently waiting for something to happen, ANYTHING to happen, Alphonse spoke up,

"Dammit, we have to do something. What good is it doing us sitting here in this dark room waiting for something to happen?"

"Alphonse, we just have to be patient. There's nothing we can do. Our hands are both tied, and the doors are probably locked anyways. A criminal like the man in the black suit wouldn't be so careful as to leave a key lying around to unlock these chains." Roy knew Alphonse. He knew Alphonse was a patient person, but when it came to Edward, Alphonse could have a temper worse than his brother's.

Alphonse didn't want to hear it. "No! That's all we ever do-WAIT," He screamed, voice echoing in his armor, "We have to do something NOW! My brother is missing and we have to find him! He could be hurt or.." He trailed off. "...or dead," He cried in a tiny voice, a small choke escaping his armor.

"Alphonse, don't think like that, okay? Edward is a very strong person, he can take care of himself. I'm sure he's fine…" But even Roy knew it wasn't true. If Edward was missing and the black suited man was nowhere to be seen or heard, Roy knew that Edward must be with him, and sure, maybe he's not dead, but he definitely won't get away without a few cuts and bruises or so.

Roy and Alphonse waited another long and silent 5 minutes in the dark room, waiting. They were both sick of waiting. They both knew they needed to do _something,_ but what could they do, trapped in this dark room, barely able to see anything except for the two doors, each other, and letters written in glowing red ink across the wall that spelled **"CHAOS IS COMING".** Wait, WHAT?

"Alphonse, look!" Roy pointed to the three familiar words.

Alphonse gasped. "When did those appear?"

"They've probably been here the whole time," Roy replied, puzzled.

"But I thought I scanned this room…" Worry and confusion could be heard in Alphonse's voice. He gasped, "Colonel, look below it!"

Roy looked below the three glowing red words. The word " **EREBUS"** was written in the same glowing red ink, as big as the top three words.

 _Whaaat…_ Roy thought. He was thoroughly confused now.

"This makes no sense...I don't understand. What is 'Erebus'?" Alphonse wondered out loud.

"I don't know. It sounds like a name," Roy responded, trying to remember where he had heard that name before. _Think. Think dammit. Where have I heard that name before?_ He suddenly remembered. "Alphonse! I remember hearing that name. Remember when Hawkeye informed us of the pictures of the missing soldiers with the name " **EREBUS"** written across it?"

"Oh yeah, I remember! So what does this mean then?"

"I'm not sure...maybe Erebus is the man in the black suit with the red glowing eyes and he's informing us that 'Chaos is coming' or something?"

Before Alphonse could respond, the old, worn door sharply unlocked, and there stood the man in the black suit, dragging a small, long blond-haired body at his feet. The body was clearly unconscious, and blood could be seen gushing from the head.

"Brother!"

"Fullmetal…" Roy gasped under his breath.

The man spoke in a high-pitched, lunacy laced voice, "I brought you a present," He threw the small blond boy against the wall of the room, opposite Alphonse and next to Roy. "but please don't play with it too much, we need it for later."

"Brother!" Roy heard again.

Roy looked over at the boy, worry and confusion written all over his face.

The man spoke again, "I'll come back for you later. Erebus would like to see you...ALL OF YOU."

With that, he shut the door again, locked it, and walked away. The words " **CHAOS IS COMING"** glowed brighter on the wall.

 **Please leave a review!**

 **-elricpotter24**


	6. Awake

**Hello everybody! I am SO SO sorry. I have been gone for far too long, and I really missed working on this story. I got to a certain point in this chapter and I began having some serious writer's block, so I took a break (a long one, I know). But I'm back now, and I'm ready to deliver another chapter! :D I hope you enjoy this one. Also, I have changed my username to "exospier'.**

 **Disclaimer: NO I do NOT own Fullmetal Alchemist. The series belongs to the wonderful Hiromu Arakawa.**

His eyes stared up at the completely white ceiling, unblinking, unmoving. Sighing, he slowly got out of the white bed, feeling his head for the gash. Nothing. He walked to the other side of the room, the same pure white as the bed and the ceiling. _Dammit, where am I? This doesn't look like the hospital…_

He heard a familiar voice call his name. "Edward," it said. He ignored it and continued to stare at the blank white wall. "Edward," it said again, this time in a menacing tone, voice deep and threatening. Edward slightly flinched at this, but he still did not respond. "Look, Edward," the voice said threateningly. "Look at the wall." Edward turned to face the wall behind him. In large, bright red letters it read **CHAOS IS COMING.** On top of those three words read three more words, still in the same bright color, only larger. **EREBUS AWAITS YOU.**

Edward woke with a start. He jerked so hard that his head instantly began to ache. He grabbed it and moaned in pain.

"Brother!" He heard a small, recognizable voice yell.

Edward only responded with another pained moan.

"Fullmetal, are you alright?" The Colonel worriedly asked his subordinate.

Edward only gave a small response, too dazed to form words. "Mmm…" He then moved so his back was touching the wall, struggling, and gently laid his head against it, closing his eyes.

"Edward, hey! Can you hear me? You can't go to sleep right now. We need you," the Colonel spoke in a rushed and worried tone.

Barely moving, Edward cracked one eye open and glared over at the Colonel. He then shut his eye and asked, "W-what do you...need me for?"

"Well for one you're the only one not strapped to a wall, so maybe you could assist us with getting free. Secondly-".

"Colonel!" Alphonse cut him off. "He can't do anything in the condition he's in. Look at him!"

Roy knew Alphonse was right, but they HAD to do something, otherwise they'd never get out of there. They would have to wait until Lieutenant Hawkeye or someone else found them, but he knew that would take way too long. Sighing, the Colonel calmly said, "Alphonse, I know, but we don't have much of choice right now. If we can get him to stand up then he could try to help unstrap us from the wall."

Edward, still leaning against the wall with his eyes shut, softly said "Fine, I'll do it." Alphonse gasped in response. Opening his eyes, Edward slowly got up, placing his hand on the wall for support. After steadying himself, he slowly walked over to the Colonel and examined the chain. After looking it over for a minute, Edward said, "It doesn't appear to be a very complex restraint. It's almost as if," he took a deep breath, "they wanted us to undo it."

"Well, regardless, we should get it off so we have a chance at fighting them!" Roy yelled.

Edward winced, the yelling hurting his already pained and injured head. "I know, I'll do it." Inhaling, he clapped his hands together, a blue light beginning to form around the chain. He removed his hands, and the chain was broken. Roy fell down to the floor, rubbing his wrists.

"Thanks, Fullmetal." Edward walked over to Alphonse and repeated the same steps, breaking the chain. Edward didn't say a word to his brother and instead walked over to the opposite side of the room to sit down, leaning against the wall again, closing his eyes. Roy and Alphonse rushed over to his side, and Roy put a hand on Edward's forehead.

"He's burning," Roy announced.

Alphonse gasped. "W-what are we supposed to do? We can't do nothing, he could die!" Roy could tell that Alphonse was shaking.

Roy sighed. He really had no idea what to do. He didn't see a medical kit in the room, and they couldn't escape and bring him to a hospital. Roy looked around the room anxiously, hoping he would get an idea. "I can't do anything about the fever, but your armor is cool, right? If you place your hand on his head, it might help keep it a little under control. As for the wound on his head," Roy began tearing off a piece of his jacket that wasn't tattered, "I'll wrap this around the gash. It'll have to be good enough…" He trailed off, looking at Edward, cursing himself under his breath. How come him and Alphonse weren't that harmed? Not that it's easy to harm a suit of armor. Even so, who was that man that dragged Edward into the room? What did he mean Erebus would like to see them? Roy was worried. _Very_ worried. Both him and Edward were state alchemists, and there's always someone out there trying to target state alchemist for being "dogs of the military". Except most of the time, the criminals seemed to target Edward more than the other state alchemists, and Erebus was not exception.

"Colonel. Colonel!" Roy was snapped out of his thoughts by Alphonse's urgent voice.

"What?"

'He's waking up," Alphonse looked down at Edward, who was resting on his brother's cool metal lap.

Once Edward (almost) fully regained his senses, Roy moved closer to him. "Edward, are you alright?"

"Wow, Colonel, you almost sound worried about me," Edward retorted.

"Of course I'm worried about you!" Roy turned away. "Little brat," he murmured under his breath.

Edward bolt upright. "What did you call me?!"

 _He's back,_ Roy thought. Edward grabbed his head and winced in pain. _Well, almost._

"Well, as long as you're feeling better brother, we should talk about…"

"The guy, I know. I remember him." Edward finished.

"What do you mean you remember him?"

"You don't? This is the same guy with the black suit and the red eyes that put people to sleep. I think he works for...Erebus."

Roy gasped. _Chaos is coming. Erebus awaits you._ "You mean, the guy in the black suit with the red eyes isn't even our biggest threat?"

"I don't know. I don't think so. But I remember the man in the black suit staring at me with his red eyes before I fell unconscious in the street, and then I woke up in a dark room, and the eyes were still there. Except they weren't alone." Both Roy and Alphonse gasped. "I think...I think that 'Chaos is coming' is the first guy with the red eyes, and how he came after us. 'Erebus awaits you' must be Chaos' master, or something."

"But brother, who attacked you then?"

"I don't know. He didn't have red eyes though. He was...different. More powerful. It's like he wasn't even there, but I could still feel his presence. He was like...a shadow."

"Erebus?" Alphonse asked.

Just then, a tall man in a black suit entered the room, grabbing Edward, Alphonse, and Roy, and phasing directly through the door into a pitch black room, completely empty except for the four of them, and the glowing red eyes, lurking at the opposite end of the void.


End file.
